Department for Culture, Media and Sport

Charity Commission: Internet

Lord Black of Brentwood: To ask His Majesty's Government whether they have monitored the implementation of the "My Charity Commission Account" service by the Charity Commission; what representations they have received about it; and whether they are satisfied with the speed with which the Charity Commission is dealing with complaints about it.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: The ‘My Charity Commission Account’ service is designed to facilitate a more direct relationship between the Charity Commission and trustees, helping to ensure that they are supported in their role and well equipped to oversee their charities. The Charity Commission has confirmed that most charities have set up accounts and the Commission is working hard to support any that are having difficulty. Any trustees wishing to send the Commission feedback on the service can do so by emailing myaccount@charitycommission.gov.uk or calling the contact centre on 0300 066 9197.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Clothing: Fibres

Baroness Bennett of Manor Castle: To ask His Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Preferred Fiber& Materials Market Report by Textile Exchange, indicating thatthere are likely to be only 30 million tonnes available globally of "preferred materials" for fashion production,accounting for 19 per cent of global demand; and what stepsare they takingto reduce the use of "non-preferred materials".

Lord Benyon: Defra has not made an assessment of the Preferred Fiber and Materials Report by The Textiles Exchange. One of Defra’s delivery partners, WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme), manages Textiles 2030, which commits signatories, who represent 62% of the fashion industry, to meet ambitious targets to reduce water and carbon consumption. WRAP has also done research on sustainable clothing design and produced guidance on fibre and fabric selection. In July, Defra announced proposals for keeping textiles in use for longer and minimising textile waste. These proposals, which will be subject to consultation in 2024, include a requirement for non-domestic settings such as businesses to separate their textile waste from other types of waste so that it can be collected for reuse or recycling. This separately collected textile waste should not enter landfill or be incinerated. Defra is also proposing that certain retailers provide in store facilities so that customers can return their pre-loved textiles for recycling or reuse.

Import Controls

Baroness Ritchie of Downpatrick: To ask His Majesty's Government when will a decision be made and published on the proposedcommon user charge under the Border Target Operating Model.

Lord Benyon: Defra recently consulted on the proposed Common User Charge to recover operating costs at Government-run Border Control Posts. We expect to publish a summary of the responses and an update on the Common User Charge proposal over the coming months.

Department for Work and Pensions

Poverty

The Marquess of Lothian: To ask His Majesty's Government whatsteps they are taking to tackledestitution in the UK, particularly destitution experienced by children.

Viscount Younger of Leckie: The Government is committed to reducing poverty, including child poverty, and supporting low-income families. We will spend around £276bn through the welfare system in Great Britain in 2023/24 including around £124bn on people of working age and children, and around £152 billion on pensioners. Of this, around £79 billion will be spent on benefits to support disabled people and people with health conditions. From April, we uprated benefit rates and State Pensions by 10.1%, and in order to increase the number of households who can benefit from these uprating decisions the benefit cap levels also increased by the same amount. In 2021/22 there were 1.7 million fewer people in absolute poverty after housing costs than in 2009/10, including 400,000 fewer children, 1 million fewer working age adults and 200,000 fewer pensioners. With almost one million job vacancies across the UK, our focus remains firmly on supporting people, including parents, to move into and progress in work. This approach which is based on clear evidence about the importance of employment - particularly where it is full-time - in substantially reducing the risks of poverty. The latest statistics show that in 2021/22 children living in workless households were 5 times more likely to be in absolute poverty, after housing costs, than those where all adults work. Through the ambitious package announced at the Spring budget we are delivering measures that are designed to support people to enter work, increase their working hours and extend their working lives. To help people into work, our core Jobcentre offer provides a range of options, including face-to-face time with work coaches and interview assistance. In addition, there is specific support targeted towards young people, people aged 50 plus and job seekers with disabilities or health issues. To support those who are in work, from 1 April 2023, the National Living Wage (NLW) increased by 9.7% to £10.42 an hour for workers aged 23 and over - the largest ever cash increase for the NLW. In addition, the voluntary in-work progression offer started to roll-out in April 2022. It is now available in all Jobcentres across Great Britain. We estimate that around 1.4m low-paid benefit claimants will be eligible for support to progress into higher-paid work. To further support parents into work, on 28th June 2023, the maximum monthly amounts that a parent can be reimbursed for their childcare increased by 47%, from £646.35 for one child and £1,108.04 for two or more children to £950.92 and £1,630.15 respectively. Importantly, we can now also provide even more help with upfront childcare costs when parents move into work or increase their hours. This means that a parent who needs this additional financial help can now be provided with funding towards both their first and second set of costs (or increased costs), upfront, thereby easing them into the UC childcare costs cycle. This government understands the pressures people are facing with the cost of living which is why we are providing total support of over £94bn over 2022-23 and 2023-24 to help households and individuals with the rising bills.

Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

Energy Efficiency Taskforce

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon: To ask His Majesty's Government whatlessons they have learned from the disbanding of the Energy Efficiency Taskforce.

Lord Callanan: My Rt hon Friend the Secretary of State, after careful deliberation, concluded that the draft work of the Energy Efficiency Taskforce could be streamlined into ongoing government activity. The numerous ideas, discussions and draft recommendations will be instrumental in driving forward energy efficiency.

Heat Pumps

Lord Teverson: To ask His Majesty's Government what steps they are taking in relation to (1)training additional heat pump engineers, (2) supporting heat pump manufacturers, and (3) making heat pumps more affordable for consumers, in order to ensure that they meet their target of installing 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028.

Lord Callanan: The Government has set out a package of policies to help install 600,000 heat pumps per year by 2028: On training, the £5 million Heat Training Grant is expected to support 6,000 trainees in England to become heat pump installers.On manufacturing, the £30 million Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition aims to increase our manufacturing capacity.On affordability, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers grants of £7,500 for heat pump installations, VAT has been eliminated on heat pump installations until 2027, and the Heat Pump Ready innovation programme supports projects to reduce whole life costs of heat pumps.

Heat Pumps: Housing

Lord Teverson: To ask His Majesty's Government what plansthey have to provide consumers with updated guidance on the benefits of heat pump technology and its suitability for their homes.

Lord Callanan: In July 2022, the Government launched an online tool on GOV.UK which provides tailored advice to households about whether their home could be suitable for a heat pump, the upfront costs and links to further information. An improved version of the Tool is in development and due to be launched next year.